1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, in particular relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method, in which a gamma correction table is updated with a simple way.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently various modes of image forming apparatus are developed, manufactured and widely spread as image information is treated as digital information. In such an image forming apparatus, it is desirable to further increase image quality, a gamma correction table is provided in order to correspond to a change in characteristics of a scanner portion, a printer portion and the like, and the image information is corrected with the gamma correction table to perform the image formation in order to correspond to the change in characteristics.
With reference to the image forming apparatus of the prior art, in generation of the gamma correction table, a gradation pattern stored in a storage area in the apparatus is printed, the printed gradation pattern is read by the scanner, and the gamma correction table is generated and updated on the basis of a result which has been read by the scanner. Accordingly, a result of the desired and high-quality image formation can be obtained with the correction in which physical characteristics of the scanner portion, the printer portion and the like are reflected at that time.
However, operation, in which a printed sheet of the gradation pattern having the built-in gradation pattern printed therein as described above is moved by a user to a scanner table to be read with the scanner, is at least generated in the update processing of the gamma correction table in the apparatus of the prior art. In addition, the operation for changing a normal operation mode to the gamma correction table update mode is also required. Thus, since the update processing of the gamma correction table in the apparatus of the prior art is burdensome for the user, and is not performed periodically and automatically, when the user neglects the update processing of the gamma correction table, there is a problem that it is not always possible to perform the high-quality image formation.